.com Preference in Rankings?

Do sites like Google give preference to particular domain extensions...?

[jmh1970]

Hi there all,

I had a look around the forums, but couldn't find the "answer" to this question, so here we go.

Using the key phrase "keyword1 keyword2" on Google.com presents a series of results, which up until the 2nd page of results are US addresses ie .com, .net etc. Upon reaching the 2nd page the results start to include addresses such as .co.uk and .org.au. Is anyone aware of whether there is a Google order of preference as to which domain name extensions are listed?

I have submitted the domain name www.keyword1-keyword2.co.nz ( which is well optimised! ) and I am waiting for inclusion, however I was wondering whether being at the bottom of the world means that I don't have a chance getting ranked well in Google.com.

Food for thought anyway.

Cheers :)
Ben.

[IanTurner]

I don't think that Google have any domain preferences, it is just that .coms tend to have been established longer than the other extensions and thus have better linking.

I have seen phrases with .co.uk at number 1 on Google.com search.

[rfgdxm1]

I agree with IanTurner. Obvious reason why Google wouldn't want to give preference to .coms is that this *isn't* the preferred extension for a non-commercial site. Problem with this forum is that it tends to be swarming with e-commerce people who think in terms of what would be best for them if they were selling something on the Net. The vast majority of searches people do are looking for information, not to buy something. Those searchers wouldn't want anything in the algo that gives preference to e-commerce firms.

[heini]

rfgdxm1, I think the point is not commercial vs informational, the point is generic/global vs local.

On the surface there is no preference for any TLD, be it a gTLD or ccTLD. It's all about links.

It gets more interesting if we look at the user. The question is which user gets which serps?

I would not be surprised to see a NZ user getting serps favouring co.nz sites. I don't see at this point a US user getting serps favouring .com sites though.

[rfgdxm1]

>rfgdxm1, I think the point is not commercial vs informational, the point is generic/global vs local.

My bad. In that case, my answer is if someone searches for "widget safety", why would think that a .com would be a better site than a .ca? The only way Google might sensibly consider a preference for a .com is if they had tweaked the algo to spot searches that appeared to be obviously commercial. Like "widget sales" or "buy widgets."

>I would not be surprised to see a NZ user getting serps favouring co.nz sites. I don't see at this point a US user getting serps favouring .com sites though.

Problem with this idea is that if I am in NZ, no reason to think a NZ site would have better results for "widget safety."

[BlueSky]

Obvious reason why Google wouldn't want to give preference to .coms is that this *isn't* the preferred extension for a non-commercial site.

That may be true in other countries, but that is not the case in the US. Non-commercial sites here prefer to use .com unless they qualify for a special niche tld (.gov, .edu, etc) or are non-profit organizations.

[rfgdxm1]

>That may be true in other countries, but that is not the case in the US. Non-commercial sites here prefer to use .com unless they qualify for a special niche tld (.gov, .edu, etc) or are non-profit organizations.

You'll find a lot of the ones you refer to as .org also. Surely commercial sites strongly favor the .com. Thus, any algo tweak favoring .coms will naturally tend to favor commercial sites.

[shrirch]

A well known spammy site with the .ws takes high rankings in a lot of searches. Nope, Google does not boost .com sites.

[SlyOldDog]

Well how dare you ;)

I have a .ws web site!

Agreed - no ranking preferences. We maintain several different extensions and have noticed no difference.

[MHes]

"I don't see at this point a US user getting serps favouring .com sites though"

Of course not, .com has nothing to do with the U.S. It is a non area specific ending.

[jmh1970]

All excellent feedback people. Thanks!

[ronin]

I hear where you're coming from, MHes >;->

.com has nothing to do with the U.S. It is a non area specific ending.

Nobody from the US running a site catering to a domestic readership has ever yet given me a convincing answer on why they don't use .us instead of .com >;->

[heini]

>com has nothing to do with the U.S. It is a non area specific ending
The thing the US has indifference to all other countries no ccTLD woth speaking of. So if an engine should decide to move into geotargeting to the US partially based on TLDs it would probably favour gTLDs before ccTLDs.

[sem4u]

.com was set up for US users but it has become an international domain.

[MHes]

".com was set up for US users but it has become an international domain."

I thought com was short for commercial.

.fr = France
.co.uk = UK
Com = US? .....I don't think so.